Solitude
by nervousxwreck
Summary: It was the summer that changed her life.


Sakura pried her weary eyes open as she pulled into The Outlook Lodge's parking lot.

It was only four in the afternoon but she had been driving since six in the morning to get there.

Not even a month had passed since high school graduation and yet her mother had to force her into this job, she thought bitterly. She set her head on the steering wheel and momentary shut her eyes. Memories of a few weeks prior filled her mind.

* * *

"Mom, please don't make me go. I can work here in town. I'm eighteen now. I know people that will hire me. I don't want to be away the entire summer," Sakura whined, while trailing behind her mother. "All my friends are leaving for college in a while and they don't have to go off and do some dumb job!"

"Sweetie, we've been over this. I think it will do you wonders to get away from this town for a while. It will look excellent on your college resume as well."

"But mo-"

"Sakura, you already convinced me not to force you to go to college right after graduation. This is something you have to do!" her mom sternly declared.

* * *

Groaning, Sakura turned off the engine of her small car, and stumbled into the lodge.

Absentmindedly, she noted that even in her jean shorts and old soccer shirt, it was a comfortable temperature out.

"Not too shabby." she whispered. Okay, whom was she kidding? It was absolutely beautiful. The entire structure was made of wood, and patterns were carved into the ceilings and walls. Sakura absorbed the beauty of the lobby as she made her way to the desk.

"Uhm, hi. My name is Sakura Haruno. I'm working for you this summer." She stated to the women at the, go figure, wooden desk.

"Yes! Sakura! You must be tired," The woman stood up and shuffled around the desk. "Did you drive all the way here?"

"Yeah I did."

"Okay, well I'll get you to your room. It will be on us during your stay so don't worry about that."

Her mom hadn't mentioned that. She was getting her own room?

She followed the lady, or Shizune, as her nametag said, up two flights of stairs to a small section of rooms. "You have today to relax and catch up on some rest. Tomorrow morning I'll deliver your working schedule and explain everything a little more. Have a nice stay."

The woman handed her a card key, smiled, and walked away. That was that.

She didn't know why she was nervous to open the door. Why would anyone be nervous? Different scenarios flashed in her mind while she fidgeted with the card key. Maybe she was sharing the room with someone else, or maybe it was really small, or maybe the lady had been lying and she was going to end up paying for a huge room.

She swept the card and jingled the door open in one swift movement.

To say she was satisfied would be an understatement.

The room was perfect. From the first glance, Sakura loved everything about it. There was a small fridge, a double bed, a washing machine, and even a very smell deck. She opened the glass door and carefully stepped onto the platform.

A tiny gasp escaped her lips.

The view of the water was breathtaking. Though she was a bit off to the side of the lodge, and obviously not one of the best rooms with the best views, this pleased her to no end.

Even though Sakura was from Maine, the closest beach was four hours away. To be right on the water was on an entire different level than she was used to.

Still awe struck, Sakura descended back inside towards the bed. Throwing her luggage down, she hopped in and snuggled under the covers. Her tiny hands dragged through her pink hair as she pulled it into a messy bun before nestling in. She thought about how this was her home for at least the next three months.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, thinking of what she would possibly be doing with her summer.

* * *

Sakura found herself wide-awake at the early hour of four am. Maybe falling asleep so early wasn't such a brilliant idea. Unable to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling any longer, she rolled out and slipped into some slippers that she unpacked.

"I'll just wander around for a while." she garbled to herself.

Stuffing the card key into her shorts pocket, Sakura sneaked out the door and into the hallway.

She slipped down the hall and into what looked like would be a pleasant overview of the lobby in the daytime. A giant chandelier rocked back and forth above, though it made not a sound. Her small feet carried her around a few more paths, but they were mostly dead ends and different hallways.

Ten minutes or so later, she found herself down in the lobby. A few lights were left on for who knows why. Not a soul was awake. Nothing moved. She sighed and started to walk back to the stairs to her room when a sign caught her eye.

Beach Seating.

The small sign pointed towards a doorway behind the stairs.

Quietly, Sakura tiptoed over, opened the door, and stepped outside.

The moon shone out above the water and waves calmly crashed on the shore not too far from where she stood. There were tables with umbrellas and benches all around for what looked like a restaurant she might of passed earlier. Sakura trailed along the seats and grazed her finger over the edges of the wood tables, while walking towards the series of benches off the deck and on the sand.

She froze not ten inches from her designated bench.

* * *

He couldn't sleep. Lately it seemed he never could.

That's precisely the reason he found himself staring at the moon on this peaceful night. No one could disturb him. It was just the moon, the waves, and himself.

Shutting his eyes, he leaned his head back on the bench.

Waves continued to crash. And withdraw. And crash.

Not five minutes later, his surroundings went from peaceful to almost eerie. It felt like someone was staring at him. Watching him.

Lazily, he rolled his head to the left and opened one eye.

"What."

* * *

It caught her off guard. What was she supposed to say? It was almost four thirty in the morning now, and she was staring at this guy. Not that she could see him too well. The moonlight wasn't hitting him enough for her to drink in his appearance, but she could see one onyx eye staring right into her green ones.

"Sorry to bother you. It's just that I-,"

"Couldn't sleep." he interrupted.

"..Yeah."

Rubbing her wrists awkwardly she stood there waiting for him to say something else. Anything else. But nothing came. He just turned his head back and stared expressionlessly at the moon.

She did the same.

"You can sit here." He muttered after a while.

Saying nothing else he moved over to the right, and allowed a nice gap to be created.

"Thanks," she shifted into a comfortable position. "I'm Sakura."

A few more moments passed. Again, he said nothing.

"Sasuke."

That was the end of the conversation. Sakura and Sasuke just sat in a comfortable silence, gazing out at the clouds that were gliding over the moon.


End file.
